Suit Seeks to Reverse Sunshine Dump Decision

A coalition of north San Fernando Valley residents filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the city of Los Angeles seeking to overturn approval of the expansion of Sunshine Canyon Landfill into Granada Hills.

The lawsuit by the North Valley Coalition of Concerned Citizens alleged that the city failed to adequately consider alternatives to the expansion as well as the cumulative negative effects, including health risks, on the surrounding community.

“We’re saying to the city that they shouldn’t have done this to us. It’s wrong,” said Mary Edwards, a leader of the coalition.

The lawsuit, which named dump-operator Browning-Ferris Industries as an interested party, was filed downtown in Los Angeles Superior Court. It seeks a court order setting aside the City Council’s vote in December clearing the way for expansion.

By an 8 to 7 vote, the council approved a zone change allowing BFI to accept 55 million tons of trash on 194 acres in Granada Hills for the next 26 years.

Kelly Smith, the lawyer who filed the lawsuit, said the environmental report does not comply with state law because it failed to consider aggregate impacts of the combined city and county operations.

BFI spokesman Arnie Berghoff said the lawsuit was expected and will be dismissed, just as four lawsuits filed against expansion in the county portion of the landfill were dismissed.

“They are wrong,” Berghoff said of opponents. “The environmental impact report was more than adequate. We are not concerned at all that this will have any impact on our development and the timeline.”